State of Mississippi v. Louisville Tire Center, Inc., 204 So. 3d 1250

State sued Louisville Tire Center (Fair Oil) in 2007 alleging price-gouging under Miss. Code § 75-24-25 after Hurricane Katrina; Fair Oil initially won summary judgment but the Supreme Court reversed and remanded in 2011.
After remand, the case was largely inactive on the Winston County Chancery Court docket from mid-2011 until late 2014/early 2015; only a handful of non-substantive communications occurred.
Fair Oil moved to dismiss for want of prosecution under Miss. R. Civ. P. 41(b) in January 2015, asserting delay prejudiced its defense—most notably by the death of a key potential witness, Jerry Wilkerson.
The State argued delay was excused by staffing changes, ongoing settlement discussions, and that dismissal was too harsh; it also contended lesser sanctions would suffice.
The chancery court granted dismissal with prejudice, finding inexcusable delay, lack of meaningful settlement efforts, and prejudice to Fair Oil from the lost testimony; the State appealed.
The Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed, holding the chancery court did not abuse its discretion in dismissing under Rule 41(b).

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether there was a clear record of delay/dilatory conduct	Staffing changes and active settlement talks explain inactivity; no contumacious conduct	Long period (≈4 years) of non-substantive inactivity; State should have pursued the case	Court: Delay was inexcusable; chancery court did not abuse discretion in finding clear record of delay
Whether lesser sanctions would suffice	Lesser sanctions or warning should have been ordered; dismissal is extreme	Prejudice from delay (lost witness) makes lesser sanctions inadequate	Court: Chancellor considered lesser sanctions and permissibly rejected them
Whether aggravating factors / actual prejudice supported dismissal	Lost witness testimony was replaceable; prejudice not critical	Death of Wilkerson and other witness issues prejudiced Fair Oil’s defense	Court: Chancellor reasonably found actual/presumed prejudice; supports dismissal

Manning v. King’s Daughters Med. Ctr., 138 So. 3d 109 (Miss. 2014) (abuse-of-discretion standard for Rule 41(b) dismissal)
Holder v. Orange Grove Med. Specialities, P.A., 54 So. 3d 192 (Miss. 2010) (framework for evaluating dismissals for want of prosecution)
Hillman v. Weatherly, 14 So. 3d 721 (Miss. 2009) (Rule 41(b) dismissal supports court control of docket)
Cucos, Inc. v. McDaniel, 938 So. 2d 238 (Miss. 2006) (dismissal inherent to court’s docket control)
Cox v. Cox, 976 So. 2d 869 (Miss. 2008) (lengthy inactivity and failed settlement efforts do not excuse delay)
Jackson Pub. Sch. Dist. v. Head, 67 So. 3d 761 (Miss. 2011) (preference for merits weighed against presumed or actual prejudice)
AT&T v. Days Inn of Winona, 720 So. 2d 178 (Miss. 1998) (aggravating factors relevant to dismissal analysis)